Djed Book and Michael Leavitt's Art Army

Cremaster Fanatic ventured out for a Chelsea gallery crawl a couple of weeks ago. Of course, out main target was Matthew Barney's Djed exhibition at Gladstone Gallery. We shot some photos, but, to be honest, the official ones are much better -- there's a nice collection the on Juxtapoz web site.

We picked up a copy of a small book published in conjunction with the exhibtion. The book contains an introduction to Ancient Evenings, librettos for Acts I and II (Ren and Sekham), an essay on Egyptian mythology by Angus Cook, and, of course, tons of photos (both film stills and images of the Djed sculptures). As far as we know, this is the most complete information published to date about Barney's new series, Ancient Evenings.



We also managed to catch the final day of Michael Leavitt's Art Army Royalty exhibition at Jonathan Levine Gallery. We previously posted some photos of the Matthew Barney action figure, and it was great to see him in person. Mike was in our traveling exhibition The Matthew Barney Show a few years ago, and we're glad to see he's doing well.



The gallery was also selling a nice book with photos of all of the figures in Leavitt's Art Army. Here's a page showing some details of the Matthew Barney statue (which includes two of the Jacobin pigeons from Cremaster 5).

More on Matthew Barney's Djed

The Cremaster Fanatic staff were called to Los Angeles on business last week, so we haven't had a chance to visit Matthew Barney's Djed at Gladstone Gallery yet. We hope to have some photos for you soon.

In the meantime, Gladstone Gallery has added photographs of the exhibition to their web site. We also recommend Jerry Saltz's review for New York Magazine and Linda Yablonsky's piece for T Magazine for more photographs and back story. If anyone has photos from the opening, please send them to us!

Djed to be Anchored by 25-ton Iron Sculpture

Gladstone Gallery has issued a press release for Matthew Barney's Djed exhibition, opening September 17. The show will consist of drawings and three monumental sculptures made from iron, bronze, lead and copper. The artwork relates to Ancient Evenings, Barney's multi-part site-specific opera based on a Norman Mailer book about a man's journey through the seven stages of the ancient Egyptian afterlife. The exhibition's centerpiece will be a massive sculpture cast from 25 tons of iron during Barney's Khu performance in Detroit last year. This sculpture is based on the undercarriage of a Chrysler Imperial that has been modified to resemble a djed (a pillar-like hieroglyph representing the Egyptian god Osiris' power). First appearing in Cremaster 3, the 1967 Chrysler Imperial is a central element in Barney's Ancient Evenings that is often interpreted as a stand-in for Barney (who was born in 1967). The exhibition continues through October 22.

Matthew Barney Djed at Gladstone Gallery NY Sept. 17

Matthew Barney will exhibit new sculpture related to his Ancient Evenings series at Gladstone Gallery in New York this fall. The exhibtion, titled Djed, runs from September 17 - October 22nd. There is no word about whether the exhibition will include any video or if a performance will be staged in New York to coincide with the show.

According to Wikipedia, "The Djed symbol is a pillar-like ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability. It has been interpreted as the backbone of the Egyptian god Osiris...During the Renewal Festival, the djed would be ceremonially raised as a phallic symbol symbolising the 'potency and duration of the pharaoh's rule'...semen (or more generally spoken - the source of life) was [believed by the Egyptians to be] formed from spinal fluid...[thus] the essence of life starts here in the Ankh - it flows down through the vertebral canal, past the strong base of the spine (the Djed), and out through the penis."

Ancient Evenings: Libretto Exhibition Photos

Gladstone Gallery has published some images from Matthew Barney's Ancient Evenings: Libretto exhibition, which recently closed at their Brussels gallery. The exhibition included drawings and photographs related to the first two acts (titled "Ren" and "Sekhem") of Barney's Ancient Evenings - a seven act opera loosely based on Norman Mailer's 1983 Egyptian-set novel of the same name - and seven copies of Mailer's novel, each altered by Barney and sealed inside a vitrine. You can see more images HERE

Matthew Barney Makes Jerry Saltz's "New York Canon"

Matthew Barney's 1991 debut solo exhibition at Barbara Gladstone Gallery has been named one of the New York art world's most important events of the past 40 years by critic Jerry Saltz. Noting that Barney's show opened after he appeared on the cover of Artforum, Saltz writes, "The exhibition, which was continually packed with visitors, consisted of videos of Barney in drag dancing with a blocking sled, him dressed as a football player and crawling across Gladstone’s ceiling, naked, suspended from ice screws. In the downstairs gallery we saw videos of Barney inserting an ice screw into his anus in an attempt to crawl into his own body and turn himself inside out. Barney combined Nauman, Beuys, Serra, Joan Jonas, strange materials and something so physical, dense and unknowable that he created his own mystic one-man movement."

Pictured above: Matthew Barney's "Program: Houdini, O'Williams, Otto (HO2)", 1991, collection of the Museum of Modern Art.